How can I back out now?
* * *
The next day, the council met again. They agreed they should stick to their pattern of daily meetings until they had some firm answers. They’d kept the poisonings quiet, so only their closest friends and families knew what had happened. It would be better not to announce that they were at risk until they identified the culprit.
Between meetings, Aibek and Faruz spent a great deal of time mingling with the people of the village. When they weren’t working to learn all they could about their new home and its people, the two friends spent their days practicing their fencing and fighting skills with Dalan and his friends. On a couple of notable occasions, they also helped Ahren, Zifa and some of their friends improve their technique. The days felt surreal to Aibek, who hadn’t expected to enjoy forest life so much, even though he was much more careful after the poisoning.
One afternoon, while the others squared off in a practice match, Wayra and Dalan told Aibek about an upcoming wedding.
"We'll need a group of eight or ten people to go fishing for the wedding feast," Dalan said. "We'd love for you and Faruz to come along."
“We only get to eat fish for special occasions,” Wayra explained. “It’s just too hard to catch enough fish for everyone more often than that.”
"Of course," Aibek said, grinning. "I'd love to go along. I know Faruz will, too. When should we go?"
"Tomorrow?" Wayra said.
"Perfect. We'll meet at the south entrance at daybreak," Dalan replied.
* * *
That night, it stormed for the first time since the travelers had arrived in Nivaka. The wind shook the trees, and the whole village trembled with each clap of thunder. Valasa and his family gathered in the den for a game, but Faruz and Aibek had never experienced such a violent storm.
Aibek tried to disguise his fear by laughing with the family, but after only a few minutes they gave up and retired early to his rooms. Faruz followed Aibek up the stairs and into his sitting room. They sat together and waited out the storm, for the first time, Aibek doubted the safety of his new home in the trees. Each rumble of thunder rattled the house, and the winds tried to knock the entire village to the ground below.
A couple of times when the lightning flashed, Aibek thought he saw the shape of a woman standing in the corner of his room. She disappeared with the flashes of light, and Faruz never looked in that direction, so he thought it best to keep it to himself. He wondered if he was starting to lose his mind. He’d never experienced anything like this before, and he wasn’t sure how to explain it. He’d never really believed the stories Ira had told him about spirits, but that looked like a spirit to him. He was sure it had to be the strange light playing tricks on his overstressed mind. He gave his head a hard shake and tried to continue his conversation with Faruz, but couldn’t remember what they had been talking about.
The torrential downpour lasted late into the night, and eventually, the two friends fell asleep on the chairs while the wind whipped the trees outside the window. Aibek woke in the stillness before dawn and wondered if the village had survived the storm.
Serik found them still in the chairs where they had waited out the storm and informed them that they would have to delay the fishing expedition. The storm had knocked several Shadow wood branches down, and the villagers needed to work together to harvest the wood and gather the fallen leaves. The citizens would work together to prepare the wood and leaves for storage, so they would age and cure into useable goods.
Aibek and Faruz followed Serik out to the south entrance, where they learned that the huge building on the very south end of the village was a warehouse where workers prepared, cured, and stored shadow wood for future use. They helped carry the stored lumber out to the workers, who used it to repair homes that had been damaged by falling branches during the storm and to repair an area of the boardwalk that had been struck by lightning.
A little later, Aibek and Faruz worked with a group of men on the forest floor, cutting large tree branches down to manageable pieces, hoisting them up to the boardwalk, and carrying them to the storage building. Once there, the wood had to be cut into boards and hung from chains attached to the ceiling so it could cure properly. The workers told Aibek the wood needed to hang for at least six months before they could use it. That time allowed the sap to dry and harden, rendering the wood fireproof and giving it added strength.
Meanwhile, women and children gathered the leaves from the forest floor in large baskets and took them to the storage building where they were laid out to dry on wide shelves lining the perimeter of the building. The work kept the entire village busy all day, and they finally finished all of the preparation, storage, and repairs about an hour before sunset. By that time, everyone was tired and dirty; they trudged home in groups while they chattered happily about all they had accomplished that day. The friends had rescheduled the fishing trip for the next day, and the same meeting place and time agreed upon.
The morning dawned cool and clear, and the group met as planned at the south entrance. Aibek had only expected the six men who usually stayed together, but Ahren, Zifa, and their friends Tamyr, Ahni, and Zyana, also joined them at the entrance, so eleven set out together for the lake.
The forest was lovely; the bright colors of the leaves signaled the progression of autumn. As they walked along the path, Aibek gaped at the clusters of shadow trees with their brilliant yellow foliage and many other trees with vibrant orange and red leaves. Even the brush bordering the path was changing colors. Aibek breathed deeply and luxuriated in the heady scent of the autumn flowers mingled with the fresh scent of the woods after the rain. Their trek through the woods was a colorful adventure. The group was cheerful and noisy as they progressed towards their goal, some of the women boasting of the delights they had brought along for lunch, and the men threatening to steal the baskets and eat all the food during the walk.
As they strolled along the path, Aibek glanced over, surprised to find himself beside Ahren again. The first few times that had happened, he had slowed down a bit to allow her to get ahead of him, and she had rejoined her friends. This time, she stayed next to him even when he changed his pace. She had barely spoken to him since their argument in his room, but she was making an effort to stay near him.
She finally spoke, her voice soft. “I voted for you for mayor.” She leaned away from him and kept her head down, but her words were unmistakable.
“I thought you wanted someone else in that role. I haven’t been here nearly as long as most of your friends.” He kept his voice low, so those walking nearby wouldn’t overhear. She was visibly uncomfortable, and he didn’t want to make things worse.
“I did, and I still think there are others who would be better mayors.” She glanced at his face, but he kept his expression neutral. “But everyone says we need to return to our customs and regain our identity as a community. Tavan stole so much from our people. If electing the last mayor’s son can help give some of that back, then I’m all for it.”
She snapped a twig off a bush as they walked, then continued snapping it into smaller pieces. He kept quiet and waited for her to proceed.
“And it’s not like you’re standing alone, ruling over the village. The whole council is made up of locals, so they’ll keep us moving in the right direction.” She kicked a loose stone down the path as he took a moment to choose his words.
“Thank you for your vote. It really means a lot, and thank you for telling me. I know you didn’t have to.” He tried to express his gratitude without sounding arrogant. For some reason, the girl’s opinion mattered to him. Maybe, if she was starting to come around, then whoever else opposed the new council would change their minds, too.
They walked on in silence for a few minutes, then she blurted out, “I really am sorry about the way I acted when you first got here. I’ve felt terrible about it for weeks.” She kicked another stone down the path. “It was my fault you got hurt.”
“That w
asn’t your fault at all,” Aibek said with a smile. “I should know better than to wander alone in an unfamiliar forest. Besides, there’s no way you could have known your father would drop a staircase on my head.” He grinned, and she laughed.
“You’re right. No one could have predicted that.”
They laughed together and continued on their way, but before long she caught up with her friends and finished the walk with them. He couldn’t help but notice the disapproving look Tamyr gave Ahren when she rejoined the group after talking to him.
After about an hour’s walk through the woods, the group entered a clearing which led them to the banks of a small lake. The forest surrounded it, and a wide band of short scrubby bushes and tall grass grew near the water’s edge. As they progressed toward the bank, the group scared a cloud of colorful butterflies, which took to the air by the hundreds, a stunning contrast against the brilliant blue sky. The air was filled with the bright yellow and red insects for an immeasurable moment until they had all flown higher and landed in the trees around the lake.
When they reached the water, the men set about the business of catching fish while the women spread blankets and started gathering fall berries. The fish were biting, and the men strung them on twine in the water to keep them fresh. It was an idyllic morning of fishing and gathering, talking and laughing.
Aibek learned that Wayra was to be the groom in the upcoming wedding, and he was marrying Zyana, who had also come along. She was great friends with Ahren, so he thought it was surprising he hadn’t met her before today. She was a tall, slender, pretty young woman, with rich brown hair, golden eyes, and a dusting of freckles across her nose. She stayed near her betrothed all day, even when the other women had gone off into the woods following a line of berry bushes. Wayra acted like a love-struck youth; he constantly smiled when he talked about her and leaned close any time she stood near him.
Aibek soon got bored with the village gossip, stood and stretched his arms over his head. He wasn’t accustomed to sitting in one place for so long. He glanced around and decided to go for a walk on the path the women had taken. He wasn’t sure he wanted to catch up with the girls, but he needed to move around. He slipped quietly into the woods and took a deep breath. There was something about this forest, something peaceful that made a man let down his guard and relax deep inside.
In the sun-dappled woods, it was hard to remember why he'd been so anxious. He still didn’t know how to lead a village, but decided he would lean on the council and Valasa and they could figure it out together. As Ahren said, he wasn’t alone. Still, he wished he had someone to ask for advice. He missed his Aunt Ira and wished she had been able to come along.
He wandered down the walk and let his mind go blank as he took in the bright colors of the autumn. After a while, he realized he had somehow managed to lose the trail he’d been following. Too relaxed to be alarmed, he simply continued in the direction he was heading until he found another, narrower trail.
He was strolling along, enjoying the slight breeze and looking around for signs that would lead him back to the lake when someone shoved him hard from behind. He stumbled forward a couple of steps and turned to see who was behind him. His mind jumped to another day and another attacker, and he hoped he wasn’t about to meet more of the elves and dwarves. At least this time he could count on his own abilities; there were no village entrances within several miles so no one could drop stairs on his head.
He scanned the trail behind him for signs of an attacker and saw none. He looked closer at the bushes and trees, trying to discern anything unusual. It took several minutes of searching before he noticed what looked like leaves floating in the air in front of a tree.
“Aha! I see you now!” He shouted, then immediately felt foolish.
Who says things like that? This isn’t one of Aunt Ira’s bedtime stories.
To his surprise, a dozen or so elves emerged from the bushes around the trail and surrounded him. One elf stepped onto the path directly in front of Aibek.
He sneered. “You’re on the wrong trail, tree-dweller,”
“I think I may have gotten lost,” Aibek admitted as he combed the immediate area for anything he could use to defend himself, since—once again—he had no weapons with him. Seeing none, he wondered if he could talk his way out of this. “I’m still pretty new to the area, and I’m not sure how to get back to my friends at the lake. If you’ll point me in the right direction, I’ll be on my way.” He tried to move past the closest little warrior person.
“Slow down.” The elf held up his hands, and his friends moved to block the path. “What’s the hurry?”
Suddenly, the mayor found himself face down on the dirt trail with a heavy weight on his back. It felt as if a pointy knee or elbow dug into his spine between his shoulder blades. Aibek struggled to get free, but he the little people outnumbered and outmaneuvered him. A minute later, he found his arms tied behind his back and realized something heavy held his feet to the ground. An elfin face appeared before his own near the dirt.
The little warrior spat out a warning, curling his lip. “Listen here, Mayor, you may be important to those simpletons in the trees, but you are less than nothing to us. We won’t kill you now, but only because it would violate the treaty. You keep to your end of the forest, and stay away from Kasanto and our trails.”
As soon as the little man had finished speaking, he and all of his companions disappeared into the forest. They left Aibek bound on the trail, wondering how to get back to the lake. It didn't take him long to pull a hand out of the bindings around his wrists and twist into a sitting position. He spat the gritty dirt from his mouth and wiped the dust off his face. Then he moved the stones weighting his legs, stood and looked around. The elves had drawn a series of arrows in the dirt indicating the direction he should travel, so he followed the marks and soon found himself back on the main path.
Before long, he heard his friends' voices in the distance, so he stopped to compose himself. He was considerably shaken but decided not to tell anyone about his encounter. After all, it was his own fault for wandering off, and they hadn't harmed him. He stepped into the clearing and blinked for a moment in the bright sun, then walked over and rejoined the men on the bank where they were still fishing and laughing. He did his best to join the conversation and was relieved that no one mentioned his prolonged absence.
Soon, the sun shone down from overhead, signaling lunchtime, and the women emptied the picnic baskets onto the blankets. The group of friends continued laughing and joking as they ate, and they consumed the food in a flurry of activity. They repacked their jars and filled the baskets with the berries the women had gathered earlier in the day.
As the men returned to fishing, Kai shouted, “Hey! They’re getting away! The twine must have broken!” He pointed to a string of fish drifting deeper into the lake. He splashed in after them, trying hard to retrieve their catch. He stretched and reached for the line of fish, but couldn’t quite reach it. He hesitated before going farther into the water.
“It’s too bad you never grew any taller!” Alija taunted his friend, “Just go out a little farther, and you’ll have it!”
Kai laughed, nodded, and waded just a few inches more into the lake. He grabbed for the string of fish and held it above his head in triumph, then yelled and peered into the water. He jumped away from whatever he saw there, only to land in deeper water. His friends watched in horror as his black head disappeared beneath the surface.
Everyone jumped up at once, shouting together for their friend. When he hadn’t surfaced after a few seconds, Aibek jumped in after him. He waded to the spot where Kai had vanished and dove beneath the surface without a moment’s hesitation.
* * *
All their friends remained clumped together on the banks of the lake, watching anxiously for the men to break the surface. Faruz ran into the shallow water, prepared to help either man or jump in after them if they didn’t emerge soon. He held his breath to gauge wh
en Aibek would run out of air and likely need help.
12
Wedding
Faruz's lungs burned. Aibek would be running on less air than he had, so he exhaled and drew a deep breath, preparing to dive in after his friend. Aibek’s auburn hair broke the surface of the water, followed quickly by Kai’s lifeless form, draped in the string of fish that had been the source of trouble.
Dizzy with relief, Faruz helped his friend carry the unconscious man to the bank, rolled him to his stomach, and pounded on his back until water poured from his mouth. Everyone cheered when Kai finally gasped and coughed violently to clear the remaining water from his lungs. His friends gathered around and helped the choking young man to a sitting position, then stayed near him until his breathing returned to normal.
* * *
Aibek filled his lungs with a relieved breath as Kai reached for his hand, gripping it tightly as he mumbled, “You saved my life.”
“That’s what friends do—they help each other, right? Don’t you know how to swim?” Sweet relief flooded Aibek at the sound his new friend talking. He'd worried that he might have been too late.
“Nobody in Nivaka can swim," Dalan explained. "Why would we? We live in the trees. That was amazing. Where did you learn to do that?”
“We used to swim with our friends in the river that borders Xona, so we learned when we were little boys," Faruz said. "It was a favorite pastime on hot summer days. We didn’t have trees to shade us from the sun.”
Aibek stared at Kai in concern, then turned and gazed out at the lake. “So… what exactly happened out there?” His brow furrowed as he turned back to his friend. “You looked down as if something was after you, then disappeared under the water.”
The Nivaka Chronicles Boxed Set Page 14